An Unspoken Bond
by UberCreep
Summary: The death of Mai and the escape of Azula sends Toph and Zuko on another adventure four years after the war. Can the prince fall in love again? Toph/Zuko. Toko. Please review. If I don't have a reason to continue the story then I won't.
1. The Silent Escape

An Unspoken Bond

_**An Unspoken Bond**_

**Chapter One: The Silent Escape**

Four years it has been. Four years since the long-awaited conclusion of that dreadful war. But all of that is a mere memory now, just a memory. Everyone has moved on since then: Aang and Katara set out to Ba Sing Se to aid Iroh in the great city's long, yet effective, recovery; Zuko and Mai sat on their gold-trimmed thrones, yes, still ordering servants around, as they watched over and ruled the Fire Nation; Sokka and Suki are now married with two children living out on Kyoshi Island; Toph is staying at one of the royal houses near the Fire Nation's palace, generously given to her by Zuko as both an act of kindness and an act of friendship after her bitter encounter with her parents.

Despite the extremely short distance and the heartwarming act, they have not talked much over the years. They have always kept to themselves, two characters that one would expect to do so. Sure they did some things together, like gathering around with the rest of the group on Avatar Day, which had become increasingly famous after the end of the war. Other than that, it was a silent relationship, but a relationship nonetheless. And this is where the silence is broken; this is where our story's origin takes place. It takes place with, coincidently, if one believes in such things as coincidence, an act of silence. A silent escape.

Little to anyone's knowledge, the Fire Nation's past problems have not disappeared. Most of the damage left by them remains, and some incapable of being erased, such as Zuko's scar, such as all of the people lost in the fire, and with fire comes one who starts it. Azula was, and still is, contained in a prison cell. The thought is very disturbing indeed, to lock someone with all of that hate and madness in her veins. One would think she would have broken out by now, but no. She sat there…silently…for four long years up until one day when she could finally break free.

On this day, Zuko ventured out into the town. He walked down its streets looking as proud as ever. It was Mai's birthday, and he was looking for something he could buy her. Step by step he marched throughout the town, but on one step, he found himself falling down to the ground. He quickly shot his arms to catch himself, but then his arms sank into the earth and he went down, his chin slamming into it. He grunted as he glanced to the right to see two dirty feet residing next to him. He leaned his head slightly more, looking up.

"Toph?" he said as his lips motioned into a grin, no, a smile. Her head was blocking the sun, but the Fire Nation Prince could always make out a friend.

"Well if it isn't my favorite firebender!" she replied grabbing his shirt and lifting him out of the ground, his arms slipping out easily. He stood up straight and wiped his shirt free of the debris. He got a good look at her, and her hair was down all the way, reaching halfway down her back. He noticed that her voice hadn't changed much at all though, but who was he to talk, neither did his.

"What are you doing here?" Zuko asked.

"_You're_ asking _me_?" she laughed.

"Heh, yea, you're right. I'm here to find a gift for Mai, it's her birthday today. You wouldn't happen to know anything that I should get her, do you?" she chuckled again.

"_You're _asking _me_?" she asked again, laughing even more, this time Zuko laughed with her, "Well, I don't know what to get her, but I can _probably_ show you some good spots."

The prince nodded, hoping she could 'see' him nod, but she just stood there. All of a sudden she raised her arms to her shoulders.

"Well?" she asked.

"Oh, um, yeah sure. Thanks." He said. Apparently she didn't notice.

They navigated their way through the town, Toph showing him all of the shopping areas, encountering many shopkeepers who were just as weird or strange as their merchandise. Zuko found himself nervous in his own city.

"Are you sure she would like something from here?" he asked.

"Beats me. That's for you to decide Mr. Fancy Pants," she chuckled at the nickname she gave him. He looked down at himself, slightly lifting his arms so he could see. With all that detail and all of that cloth and silk, I guess even a blind girl can tell that he was heavily accessorized, or as the earthbender put it, fancy.

As they scurried through the town, Azula sat there quietly in her cell. She awaited the guard to bring her food and most importantly, a cup to drink from. She was ready to make her escape, one that she could have made a long time ago, but timing was important as well. She had to make sure that the guards weren't as stiff and worried as they were four years ago. That way, she could take them by complete surprise and break out stealthily.

All this time, she had been picking at her linen clothing so that she could get a strong and long enough string of linen needed to make her escape. The guard then came with the plate full of food and the cup of water. He watched as she ate and drank. What he didn't know was that she tied the string to the cup's handle as she drank it.

"Stand back!" the guard ordered as he went to pick up the remains. His unfortunate mistake was to pick the cup up by the handle and grasp firmly on it. It was a dark room, and the string was nearly the same color as the cup, making it almost completely unnoticeable. As the guard turned his back and took his first step, Azula pulled hard on the durable string making the guards arm reach backwards, and she ran towards the bars keeping her in so that she could grab his arm tight, the plate falling on the floor with the guards outside hearing it. When the two clueless men walked inside, they saw their fellow guard locked in the cell Azula was contained in, knocked out on the floor.

Azula then stepped out from the shadows of the corner and kicked them both inside with him. They all groaned in pain as she shut the door in front of them, sealing it shut.

"Well, boys, I'd love to CHAT, but I have some VERY important business to attend to!" she said with a hint of anger and madness in her tone as she stormed out of the building with an evil grin and her hands glowing with a blue flame. She gladly took down any guard in her way while exiting that dark prison, heading for the Fire Nation palace.

Meanwhile, Toph and Zuko were still picking at and poking merchandise as if each one was going to explode. Zuko turned his head to see a woman dressed in armor running frantically towards him. He stood up and faced her. Toph stood up next to him and looking a bit worried. She could tell that the woman was stressed.

"What's wrong?" Zuko asked her.

"There's been a break out, sir! And…" she paused.

"What is it?" He squinted his eyes a bit.

"It was Azula. She's the one broke out…"

Zuko's eyes widened and one though immediately went into his head. Is Mai all right? He quickly rushed to the palace, Toph following him.

Meanwhile at the palace, Mai was braiding her hair in her room in front of her mirror when she noticed a slight breeze. She looked to the side. The window was open, and the red curtains were blowing in her direction. She squinted with suspicion, her comb still in her hair. When she turned back to see herself, she saw more than her hair. She saw a face, a face that was shaped in a certain way to show that it meant nothing but evil. It was the face of Azula.

She jumped up and turned around grabbing two knives from her side.

"Azula! How did you get out?!" she said bringing the knives next to her cheek, ready to throw them.

"What, no 'Hey, Azula, how've you been?' You're lucky Zuko's not here. But I guess you'll do," she mocked, laughing.

Immediately, Mai threw her knives, but Azula jumped in the air, dodging it and started to dash toward her. Mai retaliated by moving backwards and throwing more knives at her, but each attempt to hit her was futile. She ran out of knives. Azula went so close as to be face to face with her, only inches away. Mai reacted by closing her eyes and shielding her face. Azula then flipped over her, unsheathing a dagger and cutting her left shoulder. Mai grunted as she fell to the ground, her right arm covering her wound.

"What-what did you do to me? I-I can't m-move…" she declared in a weak voice.

"Poison, it works wonders on the human body. Sometimes it can paralyze the enemy, sometimes it can make them very, very weak. In your case…heh. Let's just say you won't need to braid your hair any more. Guess I was right, again," she said grinning even wider, "YOU should have feared ME MORE!"

Zuko and Toph ran towards the room, but Toph had already known the sad truth. She knew that Mai was down on the ground. When they opened the door, Azula had been long gone.

"Zuko I-…" she stopped herself, it wasn't the right time to speak. Zuko just crouched down beside his lover's body, grasping her cold hand, tears overflowing down his cheek.

"No…" he whispered to himself so silently that only Toph could hear him. Toph wrapped her arms around him and held him tightly, a tear running down her cheek as well.

Mai was dead. And Zuko was hurt so much, he might as well have died too.


	2. Just Like Old Times

Chapter 2: Just Like Old Times

**Chapter 2: Just Like Old Times**

Daytime never seemed so dark on that day. Zuko paced down his own halls with anger and frustration. He tried to shield his true feelings of sadness and woe, but even he could not do that; anyone could sense it in his voice; it was just too much. It was as if Azula still got to him. It was as if he still could not show her that he was weak. He was trying to prove himself…to a maniac.

Without a word, Toph matched his footsteps trying to catch up to him. The earthbender knew the Zuko that was, and she did not want him going back to that again. If he did, Azula would already be winning. All Zuko did was shout random commands to his servants, clenching his teeth after each sentence.

"_You!_ Get a lead on where she might have been heading, how long ago she left, and then send a group of our best soldiers after her!" Zuko yelled; he tensed up all of his muscles as he took each step, not knowing that each step he took was a step towards what Azula wanted, what Azula's twisted mind had planned. Toph quickly hurried behind him.

"Zuko…" said the earthbender, finally.

"_And you!_ Check the prison to make sure that no one else got out!" he screamed as Toph tried to stop him by placing her hand on his shoulder, but Zuko immediately and uncaringly shrugged her off. All of his servants simply nodded and ran off to do what they were told.

"Zuko!" she said with more assertiveness in her voice.

"_And you!_"

"_Zuko, stop!_" Toph exclaimed, swinging her arms down, frustrated and upset with Zuko who was slowly slipping away. As soon as Zuko heard the anger and hurt in Toph's voice, he stopped, realizing what was happening to him and also his affect on others, on his friends. One tear escaped his eyes when he did. He frantically ran to the wall and beat it with his fist, hard enough to make a crack. Right after, he pressed his right arm and his forehead hard against the wall, as if his legs were going to give way any second.

The firebender then calmed down, turned his body around and leaned it against the wall, slowly sinking to the ground, his head facing the floor, his body motionless, dead. Toph walked quietly towards him and sat on the empty space to his right. Zuko looked as if he was oblivious to her presence, but in a way, her way, Toph knew he was listening the moment she spoke.

"Look, I know that we're in a real tough situation right now, but I've seen the way you can get, and trust me when I say this: it's _not _going to _help_," she said, the prince glancing at her with guilt, "And I know this is gonna be hard to do, but you can't let Azula's actions get to you. It's _just_ what _she wants_."

"I know," he replied pausing himself for a moment, "I know…"

"Now come on," she said getting up in front of him and kneeling down, holding her hand out, the prince looking up at her and taking hold of it, "We have to find her ourselves 'cause you know that it's gonna take a lot more than a some cruddy soldiers to stop your sister," she declared as she lifted him up. She then paused for a moment and held his hands. Right after, she hugged him.

"I am sooo sorry for what you've been through," she stated, holding on to Zuko with reassurance and sympathy, "We're gonna find her."

Zuko hugged her back as a female messenger dressed in light red clothing approached them.

"Sir-…" the messenger said when Toph instantly cut in.

"Not now!" she yelled turning her head towards her, "Can't ya see he's been having a rough time?"

"I'm alright, Toph. Thanks," he said breaking away from her and facing the messenger, "What happened?"

"Well, we've gathered a bit of information about the break-out, your highness," he stated, Zuko nodding at her with approval, "It seems as though Azula wasn't the only one to break out from the prison. She took a few friends with her, more commonly known as the "Rough Rhinos." It appears that they were under her allegiance for quite some time now, since before the war ended. They stole the last of our Kimodo Rhinoceroses and split up in six different directions as they left the city. Not only is catching up to them impossible, but encountering them would be a risk to our soldiers. All we know about their whereabouts is that they must have a rendezvous point if they were to meet up again."

"She used them so that tracking her would become even harder…Come on, Toph, we have to get some information from the city's border defense," Zuko said exiting his palace with Toph beside him.

They marched down the town's streets once more as they relayed the given information to each other trying to devise some sort of a plan. Toph stopped him as they neared her house, made of white stone slightly bigger than the rest of the houses surrounding it.

"Hey, hold on a sec, if we're gonna go after her, I'm going to have to get a few things," she said as she ran to her house.

"The prince waited for her to come out and when she finally did, she had on a completely new outfit than the dress she was wearing before. She stood at her front door with her fists at her sides, smiling. She wore an outfit similar to the one she always wore back then, only this one was obviously longer with detail of great complexity and evidence of master craftsmanship. The belt she wore was much sleeker, brighter, and surprisingly cleaner than her old, rough, and dirty belt. Zuko looked down at his outfit and noticed that it was somewhat similar to the clothing he wore when he and the gang were traveling but fancier of course. She finally walked up to Zuko.

"Whatcha think? I got some guy in town to stitch me up a better outfit while still keeping it close to the original I gave him," she stated awaiting his answer.

"It's…" he said, Toph standing there smiling.

"Yea?" she remarked.

"It's…" he replied, smiling himself, "It's just like old times…"

"Yea…heh…I guess you're right!" she said punching his shoulder.

"Ow! That still hurts you know?" he said covering his shoulder.

"Haha, yeah…I know." She replied smiling wider.

They resumed heading towards the city's border, with less soldiers than usual. Zuko approached the head of border defense, Nerof, and asked him what had happened.

"Five men and a…crazy woman came charging toward us on Kimodo Rhinoceros. All the men fought us off as the woman disappeared into the forest, I couldn't see which direction she headed…" he stated.

"Your men couldn't even capture one of the members of the Rough Rhinos?" Zuko questioned.

"Well…" Nerof said frowning and tapping his fingers together with shame, "they were _really really_ rough."

Zuko slapped his forehead and sighed.

"Do you have any Kimodo Rhinoceroses left?" Zuko plainly asked him.

"There's only one, sir."

"We'll take it," he said, nodding and before he was about to leave, Zuko stopped him saying, "and send a hawk to Aang in Ba Sing Se. Tell him that he needs to watch over the city while I'm gone. I can't wait for him now; it would take at least three days for him to get the message."

Nerof delivered the message and reported back to Zuko and Toph with the last Kimodo Rhinoceros. It had a black saddle that carried pouches on both sides full of supplies. They both hopped on it with Zuko in front and Toph behind him holding on to his waist. Zuko picked a path to follow, the one in the center, and they set off onto their next adventure. Just like old times.


	3. Tarin Town

Tarin Town

**Tarin Town**

They rode on for the next couple of hours in the seemingly never-ending forest, Zuko's eyes concentrating only on the road. Toph was getting drowsy out of boredom as she clung on to Zuko's clothes. She was surprised that both Zuko and the Rhino weren't getting tired, or if they were, they did not show it. Toph was desperately trying to find something to occupy her time, so she tried to start up a conversation.

"So…how long have we been at it?" she asked him.

"Few hours," Zuko said, suddenly stopping in an open clearing, catching Toph's attention.

"Why'd we stop?" Toph asked. Zuko got off of the Rhino, and Toph did the same.

"I think we should set up camp now; it's getting pretty dark." Zuko said as he looked up at the night sky.

"Maybe we don't have to set up camp," Toph said as Zuko looked at her, puzzled, "I can feel a village nearby; we should stay there."

Toph saddled the beast, took the reins, and gestured for Zuko to come over. Zuko hesitated as he walked towards the blind girl. He then hopped onto the beast and held onto Toph's waist. Toph started to smirk as she leaned forward.

"Um…Toph? Are you sure that you know how- AHH!" the prince shouted as Toph rode the animal with great speed and skill, Zuko both startled and amazed. Toph was smirking even more.

"Never underestimate a blind girl, Zuko. Oh, and you _definitely _need to get out more; _of course _I know how to ride these things! Look! No hands! Haha!!" she yelled, throwing her hands in the air, laughing and smiling wide. Zuko wrapped his arms around her waist tightly, holding on for dear life.

"Toph!! Grab the reins!!" he yelled burying his head deep into Toph's shoulder not wanting to see what happens.

"Haha! Whoever knew you were such a scaredy-cat," she replied calmly grabbing onto the reins, still chuckling to herself a bit.

"I'm not!" he exclaimed in his defense, "It's just been a while…"

"Yeah, I bet."

They arrived finally at the gates. There was a sign out in front saying "Tarin Town." They dismounted the animal when a bearded merchant with a long face wearing a blue hat and blue clothing approached them. Zuko looked at him curiously as he walked towards the two benders.

"Greetings Fire Lord Zuko and young miss! Welcome to Tarin Town!" he stated, lifting his arms to welcome them both.

"…Why are you greeting us?" Toph asked him, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, I was just watching my store when I saw you two walk in through our gates. It is not often that one meets the Fire Lord in person, especially here in my home town! And if the…rich…Fire Lord would be so kind, my shop is right there next to the wooden wagon. Maybe you would like to check it out sometime?," he insisted, pointing to his tiny store with fake, uninteresting merchandise.

"Maybe next time…Is there any place where my friend and I can stay for the night?" Zuko asked him.

"Well sure! You can stay at the Rock Inn!" he exclaimed.

"The…rockin' _what_?" Zuko asked him, misunderstanding him.

"The Rock Inn! You can't miss it!" he yelled raising his arms.

"He makes…no sense whatsoever," Toph said folding her arms, also misinterpreting him, "Whatever, we'll find a place."

They both walked through the town. They saw many different shops and stores and houses, but hardly any people since it was dark out. They only saw a few desperate merchants, including the one that greeted them. Most of the buildings were made of wood except the large one in the center of the houses that was made of stone. All of the houses had many scattered lights among them that lit up the entire place. It hardly seemed that dark outside anymore. It made navigating through the town a lot easier for the two. The center building really caught Zuko's attention; it looked like it could be a promising place for them to stay. As he walked in front of it, Toph and the Rhino beside him, he started to slowly read the sign.

"The Rock Inn…" he read to himself, "Oh, it's an inn!"

"Yeah, I still don't get," Toph stated rubbing her eyes.

"Never mind that, let's go inside," Zuko said walking towards the large rock structure.

"Hold on," Toph said, Zuko turned around and looked at her. She led the Rhino to the side of the building and stomped on the ground. One by one, four slates of earth rose from the ground and surrounded the Kimodo, "Just makin' sure he doesn't run off somewhere."

They proceeded to walk in the building, one woman standing at the front desk, her arms folded. They approached her, and Toph then leaned on the wall next to them folding her arms as Zuko spoke with her. He asked her how much it was for a two bed room for the night, and she answered him coolly as Zuko paid the price that was given to him. He took out ten silver coins from his pocket and placed it on the desk. The innkeeper took out a key from one of her drawers and told them where their room was. Zuko thanked her and started walking with Toph towards their room.

They opened the door; Toph immediately walked tiredly toward a bed and plopped face down on it grasping the pillow into her head. Zuko chuckled and sat down on his bed slowly taking off his shoes when a certain sound caught his attention. The minute he heard it, his eyes widened, even his scarred eye, and he ran towards the window. It was the sound of rain.

"No!" Zuko yelled as he looked outside with a pained look on his face.

"What? It's just rain…" the earthbender said stuffing her head back into the pillow and closing her eyes.

"No, you don't get it! The rainfall will sure to cover the tracks!" Zuko yelled, still looking outside the window and silently hoping that the rain would stop. Toph started to sit upright on her bed looking down.

"Oh…yeah, you're right…Well, the tracks weren't too far from here sosomeone in town probably saw something. We'll ask them tomorrow, okay? Just go to bed," she stated with tired, pale green eyes and laid back down on the bed, "We'll be fine."

"Yeah. Alright," he sighed as he walked back to his own bed, laying down on it, closing his eyes. They both fell asleep, Toph on her side, Zuko on the other.

Zuko finally awoke as the bright sun hit his face; a calm, snoring earthbender was sleeping right next to him in his bed hugging him. Zuko looked at her and smiled, closing his eyes again, but then he awoke again wide-eyed realizing that Toph was in his bed. How she got there he did not bother to ask.

"Ah!" he yelled when he looked at Toph a second time, not loud enough to wake her up. He poked her head trying to wake her up.

"Psst…Toph…You're _sleeping_ on me," the prince whispered, still poking her head saying her name each time. Toph started to look annoyed as he poked her, but Zuko thought she was waking up. He poked her once more on the forehead, and right after, an angry, sleeping, earthbender fist came straight for the firebender.

"Ugh!" Zuko grunted in pain when the fist came in contact with his face knocking Zuko out as his head flew back. Toph was unconscious, but yet she found a way to smile.

Zuko woke up again about an hour after rubbing his head, and Toph was sound asleep on her own bed. The prince fixed his hair in the usual ponytail and looked over at her. Zuko just shook his head, and walked over to her bed. He was about to shake her and wake her up, but then he took a big step back and reeled in his arms, thinking about what happened this morning. He took a courageous step forward and lifted a brave hand about to touch her shoulder. Then she started to open her eyes.

"Zuko? What are you doing?" she asked him a little weirded out.

"I was just trying to…"he declared placing his right hand on the back of his head, "Never mind. We should start going into town and start asking around.

"Yeah, whatever. Let me get ready, okay?" Toph said stretching her arms and legs.

"Okay. I'm gonna go check on the Kimodo Rhino."

"Yeah, yeah," she replied getting up and fixing her hair.

As she was finishing up, Zuko walked in the door.

"What's wrong?" she asked him.

"I think that we should have taken the pouches off of the rhino before we left it alone."

"Why, what happened?"

"We just need to get some more food supplies before we leave town."

"Sigh."

Toph walked outside and felt the words "Food Store" engraved in a nearby building. She entered the empty store as a robbery was taking place. An unclean man was threatening the shopkeeper with a knife. Toph merely yawned, her right arm stretched in the air and her left hand covering her mouth as she walked toward them both, the shopkeeper's hands in the hair.

"I said give me all your money! Hey, little girl, stand back!" he threatened, turning towards Toph as she walked closer. He pointed the knife at her.

"Stand back! I'm warning you!" he yelled. Toph walked up to him in a sleepy fashion, her back slouched over, and she placed her hand on his knife crushing it in her palm, throwing it to the side. Then, she pushed the thief off to the side onto a stone table and swiped her right arm towards him, not even looking at him. Four rock cuffs emerged from the table and imprisoned his arms and hands. Toph looked as if she did not even know he was there. The shopkeeper was so dumbfounded that his arms were still high up in the air, sweat beating down his face.

"How much can we get with this," she stated when she reached the counter, placing money on it and then resting her head on her arm, yawning.

Just then, Zuko walked in through the door and walked up towards the counter. He glanced at the whimpering robber as he passed by him and said, "What's up?" He then looked back at Toph and kept on walking, the robber watching him as he strolled by.

"Toph, I have a lead on where to go, let's get going."

"Alright, alright," she collected the change along with the food that he prepared for her and walked away with Zuko.

"Here," she stated when she passed by the trapped thief, flicking a copper coin onto his chest, "You can have the change."

He looked down at the unreachable coin as they exited. Toph neared their rhino and stomped on the ground once more, releasing it. She hopped on it, smiling and grabbing the harness.

"Where to?" she said as Zuko hopped on the back.

"A cave. There are mountains nearby and the only way to get through them is by going through a cavern. One of the other villagers said she saw a man on a Kimodo Rhino riding towards the mountains. Since they all seemed to head off in a certain direction, it's likely they all went through it, and that's where we need to go. Sigh, I should've known they would go through there. Let's go."

Toph nodded and they went off into the forest again.


End file.
